Monday, December 19, 2016

"God can do great things with weak things. He has great things in store for you.There is no way this work would be possible without Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I may be weak, but through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I can be made strong."

Always practicing using my chopsticks whenever possible (look at them in my pocket)

Hello everyone!! This week has been so awesome. I really have seen the Lord's hand in my mission. He gives me strength everyday and blesses us with miracles everyday. Over the past week, we were able to put Brother Ning and Brother Xu on dates for baptism!! Brother Ning committed to December 31st and Brother Xu is set to be baptized on January 13th. :) It is the best news ever when people you love and care about are ready to move forward and make covenants with the Lord through baptism. I know this will bring them great joy and peace. We are so excited to help them and the rest of our investigators continue to progress towards baptism!

This week was full of finding, teaching and serving. Last Monday after p-day ended we had a lesson with Ning Di Xiong. We taught him about the Restoration and eternal families. Pretty cool stuff to teach about. We had Brother Jiang with us as a member present and were able to put Ning Di Xiong on his baptismal date. We were so happy and excited!! It was a really good lesson, the spirit was strong and I felt so good helping someone progress.

I am learning the real power of service. Service with no strings attached. It is good for the giver and good for those who are helped. I love being out helping others. This week we were able to go and help at a local care center. This was super awesome. Many of the residents were disabled and I loved going. We colored with them, cut out arts and crafts, talked with them, and even sang Christmas Carols for them. It was so cool. I loved it. We also went to Brother Teng's house in the late afternoon so that I could meet him. Super cool guy, and a great member! That night we also tried to visit some potential investigators, but weren't able to get in and teach a lesson.

On Wednesday we had ZDM, a big zone meeting. I learned a lot from the trainings on prayer, the doctrine of Christ and using scriptures in our lessons. We also had English Class and 8 people showed up which was pretty good! Sister Zhang needed some boxes moved and we also were able to do that for her.

We visited Margaretia, our referral that lives in Yucaipa. Her situation is getting worse, and so is her belief in God. It was a super sad lesson. She doesn't really want to believe in God anymore. We told her that if she needed anything, to give us a call. We will continue to try and help her when she is ready! The only good news from that visit is that on the way home from Yucaipa, there is a CAFE RIO right off the freeway!! Yucaipa is in the Redlands mission. There is one Cafe Rio in Redlands. And Cafe Rio was right on our way home!!! Sooooo good, I really have missed that place! Steak salad all the way :) That night Elder Yang and I had to go to a Stake MCM missionary meeting, while Elder Zeng went with Brother Miao to teach another lesson with Brother Ning.

Friday we had the opportunity to do more service in the morning at the Nature Center! We cleaned branches off the ground and did some trail clearing/cleaning which was fun :) In the afternoon, we had a lesson with a referral from one of the senior couples, Elder Cook. The referral's name is William! Funny thing actually, William crashed his car into one of the mission cars, and so Elder Cook used it as a missionary opportunity and got a referral for us!! So awesome. We talked a little with him about the Restoration and invited him to come to church. He didn't end up showing up though :( Cool experience! Always be a missionary and share your beliefs with others.

Saturday morning Elder Zeng went and took the ACT. The night before, I was able to give him a blessing which was super cool. I am so grateful for the Priesthood. Elder Yang and I went contacting for a while and did our studies while Elder Zeng was taking the ACT. We picked up Elder Zeng again and drove straight to a lunch with Sophia and her family. Sophia has been coming to English class and invited us over for lunch! She made so much food for us. Holy cow. People are kind and good! We also shared a little Christmas message with them, with the help of Sister Phillips (a ward member) and invited them to come to church. They said that they will this week. That night, we had a Zone Christmas Party at our stake President's house, President Jergensen. We ate, went caroling, and then President Mullen shared a message at the end.

Sunday was super awesome. Ning Di Xiong, YoYo and Perry all came to church! Also, the Li family brought their friends to church and we have a lesson with them tonight :) That night, we went to visit Monica and her friend PeiPei. They both have come to English class a couple of times and we are praying we can help them come unto Christ! We also had a lesson with Xu Di Xiong. We talked about the Restoration and invited him to pray, and set a baptismal date for January 13th!!! I am so excited. Please pray for all of these people!!

Something I loved this week was from Stake MCM, someone said, "God can do great things with weak things. He has great things in store for you." There is no way this work would be possible without Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I may be weak, but through Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I can be made strong. Love you all have a great week!

Monday, December 12, 2016

"We are making progress here and it is so fun to be a small part of it. I am so grateful for this week.

I have learned so much about my Savior and how He is in the little details of my mission and our lives."

YoYo and Perry brought us a treat to English Class

Hello everyone! This week has been seriously so awesome. To start off, we had 6 investigators at church!!!! I seriously was so stoked and so happy. I have really seen Heavenly Father's hand in my mission and how He continues to bless me and bless all His children. I feel grateful.

Tuesday was pretty solid. We had our regular DLC and DDM meetings. Also Tuesday night we visited a less active member, Xiao Deng. Xiao Deng's wife isn't a member, and they have a 5 year old son. We shared the Christmas message "Light the World" with them and they really liked it. It is super hard to meet with them because they are really busy. We will continue to try though!

This week we were schedule for a dinner appointment with the Yu family (who are members). Their parents live with them and are not members of the church. When we got there the Yu's weren't home so we ate dinner with their parents and shared a message! Later that night at English class only Brother Yang and Sophia came. So there were 5 teachers for the 2 of them. They were happy about that haha. After class we shared a message with them. We invited them to read from the Book of Mormon and they agreed!! Sophia is a very strong Buddhist but she is starting to be more open with her beliefs. We hope and pray they both can progress!

On Thursday we had a service opportunity in the morning at a Nature Center. We helped clean trash out of a river and on the banks of a creek. It was fun! It felt good to be out and working hard doing something good for the community. We also received a referral this last week from the Redlands mission. Her name is Margaretia. We visited her on Thursday. She lives in Yucaipa. Before we went to meet her, we had lunch with the Elders from the Redlands Mission who have been teaching her for the last couple of weeks. One of them is from China. Margaretia's situation is a little rough. We met with her, and testified and promised her that Heavenly Father will help her get through this tough time. We will go back to meet her again on Thursday. We continue to look and search for people to help. We met with a former investigator, Daphne. She is married to an American. We invited her to read the Restoration pamphlet and pray. We also went and had a short lesson with Xu Di Xiong. We are praying for them!

Friday we had another couple of hours of service in the morning at the same Nature Center. Then we drove to Brother Pu's warehouse, to help him move a big shipment of packages into his warehouse. 1000 boxes!!!! It was so hard but so worth it to help out a man I really care about. Brother Pu is not active right now.

We continue to teach YoYo and Perry. This week we taught them about prayer, the Holy Ghost, and Baptism. We extended the baptismal invitation again and they still have the same concerns. Slowly I see their faith becoming a little stronger each day. I know that one day they will be baptized.

Saturday we had our weekly "Blitz." I was with Elder Ly again and it was so awesome! We contacted 15 people, and a lot of Chinese people which was good! We met a cool family from Taiwan and another way awesome guy from China that knows a member. Funny story about this blitz. We met a lady from China and started talking with her. Whenever I would ask her a question, she would SING her response. She didn't have any interest but it was funny. That night we also had the Ward Christmas Party! There were tons of Chinese people there. We had a great turnout, which we were super happy about.

Sunday was so awesome. We had 6 investigators come to church!! Brother Ning, YoYo and Perry, Benson and Mona, and Sister Li. Please pray for all of these names so they can continue to progress! We also got to watch the First Presidency Devotional. President Eyring's story about the Christmas play was awesome. I love that guy.

We are making progress here and it is so fun to be a small part of it. I am so grateful for this week. I have learned so much about my Savior and how He is in the little details of my mission and our lives. Love you all have a great week!

Sunday, December 11, 2016

"On Thanksgiving day Elder Zeng, Elder Yang and I also went and delivered "Thank-You" cards

to pretty much every ward member to show everyone we are thankful for them!!"

Hello everyone . I hope you are all doing well! This week we have seen many miracles and the work seems to really be progressing. By the way I caught a touchdown in the Turkey Bowl!!!!! I am like Odell Beckham Jr out here.

Last p-day we had a crossfit workout (every other transfer, half of the mission gets together) with President Mullen. That is super fun. President Mullen is a beast!!! He did the workout without breaking a sweat. Such an awesome guy.

Elder Yang and Elder Ly at DDM with Elder Willes

We had our weekly DLC and DDM meetings. Elder Zeng gave another training about prayer which was awesome. That afternoon, we met a guy named Yu Tao, who has come to English class. We talked for a while, and shared the "Light the World" Christmas initiative with him and he really liked it. We haven't been able to contact him since, but we are hoping he comes to English class so we can schedule another appointment!! That night, we had a FHE at the Miao's house. We invited the Li family, and Yoyo, Perry, and their son Robin! It was awesome! We shared a message about the Restoration, then played games relating to the Gospel. It was so good to have Yoyo and Perry there!

Wednesday was pretty awesome. We went to Harada Park and found about 10 Chinese people playing TaiJi (I think that is how it is spelled haha). We talked with them for a while and it was good to find a lot of Chinese people so we can get to know them, and see if they have interest in the Gospel or in English Class. In the afternoon, I had an every-transfer interview with President Mullen. He is an awesome guy, and has such a strong spirit and testimony.

Thursday was THANKSGIVING!!! In the morning, we had a Turkey Bowl, and I caught a TD!!! That was super fun. On Thanksgiving day Elder Zeng, Elder Yang and I also went and delivered "Thank-You" cards to pretty much every ward member to show everyone we are thankful for them!! We also had our "Weekly Planning Session" too. For Thanksgiving, we had 2 dinners. The first dinner was with Sister Budica, her family, and the River Heights Elders. Sister Budica made the BEST food for us!!! So good. Then straight from there, we drove to a Chinese Thanksgiving potluck at the Jiangs! I was already so full but then I had to eat more Chinese food. That night, we went to the Stake Center and had another activity with missionaries. Elder Hall (one of the senior couple missionaries) and I played some HORSE! He can ball and has a sweet skyhook! That was fun.

This week at English class we had 5 new people show up which was awesome!!! I love English class. It is a good tool for us. We also went on Friday and visited a former investigator, Daphne. She said that we could call her this week to come by, so we are hoping we can teach her!

Saturday we had our weekly "Blitz." This week, I went out with Elder Zeng and Elder Jackson. We talked to about 10 people, and none really had any interest :( We also had dinner with the Su Family. We shared the Christmas message with them and that was awesome. The Chinese members here are great and help us. I love them so much!

Sunday was awesome!!! Church was so great. Yoyo, Perry, and Robin all came to church!! They loved it. During Elders Quorum, Perry gave a great comment about the Plan of Salvation, and Heavenly Father's love. So cool!! I love seeing him progress. Sunday night, the zone leaders had a baptism. If you bring an investigator to the baptism, then as missionaries you can attend. We brought Yoyo, Perry, and Robin! So awesome. They loved it. After the baptism, we invited them to be baptized on December 31st. They said that they still want to learn more, so we invited them to pray about if that is the right time for them. Please pray for them! Also Sunday night we were visiting Ding Di Xiong, (a less active) and found Brother Ning there!!! He said he wants to come back to church and said he will come this Sunday. Miracles everywhere!!! The Lord really watches over his missionaries and those seeking truth.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve. Love you all have a great week!

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

"I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity that I have to serve the Lord. This work is amazing,

and even though we haven't seen very much success yet, there are miracles everyday to see."

ENGLISH CLASS

Hello everyone and Happy Thanksgiving!! :) This Thanksgiving I am especially thankful for this wonderful opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to serve Him. I am super happy here. Also, the Jurupa Zone better watch out because on Thursday, I'mma ball out at the Turkey Bowl haha.

This week has also had its ups and downs, but I continue to be exactly obedient and give it all I have. I know things will pick up soon.

Tuesday was a pretty good day. We had our weekly District meeting, and Elder Zeng, my companion, gave an awesome training from Chapter 4 in Preach My Gospel about Recognizing the spirit. The Holy Ghost is a powerful tool in missionary work and in life. That night, we had our first lesson with a new family we picked up. Perry, his wife YoYo, and their 2 year old son, Robin. They are so awesome. We are praying and praying hat they will continue to progress! YoYo is pregnant, so we taught them about The Plan of Salvation. The lesson went pretty well and I know they felt the spirit!

Wednesday we had trainer/trainee meetings. We drove to the mission office, and there President Mullen, Sister Mullen, and the AP's gave us various trainings. It was awesome. I learned a lot. After that we had another meeting with multiple zones in the mission about the new Christmas initiative, "Light the World." Should be pretty cool! Take a look at it. It is powerful. Wednesday night we had English class again. Brother Yang and Perry both came which was great!! We also met with Brother Miao. He is basically the Ward Mission Leader for the Chinese members but has been traveling in Taiwan the last several weeks. He is incredible.

We continue to work on the UCR campus to find investigators to teach. We had dinner that night with the Li Family again. They are so awesome. We had some good baozi, and also I tried some good CHICKEN FEET AND CHICKEN STOMACH!! It wasn't too bad actually. A little different though. That night we had another lesson with YoYo and Perry. We taught about our life on earth, the Savior's Atonement, and invited them to be baptized. We extended the invitation, and they said that they want to learn more before they commit to be baptized. We will see what happens!

I went on my first exchange this week with Elder Wood! He is one of our zone leaders, and is a really awesome missionary. We got up Friday morning, and went seeking with faith. We found two really cool guys, Tyrone and Jesus. Tyrone played football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and on the Chicago Bears for awhile! He also said Jimmy Butler was his cousin!! Crazy. He was nice. We showed him a video about Jesus Christ and he really enjoyed it. Jesus is a chef in Orange County. We found him in his yard and he is also super cool. Hopefully these two people will progress for the Zone Leaders in their area! Elder Wood and I also did some service for a guy at his house that he is remodeling. We invited him to the Turkey Bowl on Thursday!

Saturday we had our weekly Blitz in the morning. Elder Ly and I went out, and it was super fun. We contacted 16 different people, and picked up some referrals which was good! We also had dinner with Brother and Sister Li. Sister Li translates during Sacrament meeting, and they are both wonderful members. Brother Li served in Vancouver Canada and Sister Li went to Australia on their missions. Super cool examples to me.

Sunday was awesome. YoYo, her mother-in-law, and Robin, came to church! We sat by them and they seemed to really like it! Later Pan Xia called us and unfortunately she told us that she doesn't want to meet anymore. She said that she simply cannot overcome her "Scientific Mind." It is such a bummer. I know she has felt the spirit but is struggling to let faith take a bigger hold in her heart and mind. We also met with Brother Miao again last night, to discuss missionary work in the ward, and some things we can do to improve. Brother Miao is such a stud!! He has a great desire to spread the word just like I do.

I am so thankful for this amazing opportunity that I have to serve the Lord. This work is amazing and even though we haven't seen very much success yet, there are miracles everyday to see. Love you all enjoy Thanksgiving!!

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Hello everyone :) I can't believe another p-day is already here!! Crazy stuff. This week has been pretty good. Monday after p-day we had a dinner appointment with a Chinese family in our ward. They fed us some pretty good Chinese food and we shared a message with them. After we left my companions asked me, "How was the food?" I was like, "It was pretty good!" And then my comps asked, "Did you know what you were eating?" I said "Pork, right?" Hahaha wellllll turns out it was pork but it was some good old PIGS EAR and I felt a little queasy for the rest of the night.

Tuesday was pretty good! We had zone meetings all throughout the morning. We talked about goals, how we can improve and be better missionaries, and also received some training from our zone leaders. We did our studies and then ate dinner with another Chinese couple in our ward, The Chen's. They are awesome. Sister Chen leads the music every week in Sacrament meeting. After dinner, we went out and worked, trying hard to find more investigators. We tried to visit a couple of potential investigators too, but they didn't answer the door :( We also ran into a bunch of old Chinese ladies doing a traditional Chinese dance on the tennis courts. They were nice and we tried talking to all of them, but no one really had much interest in our message.

So, the next day we tried a new approach to finding new investigators. We drove to the 99 Cent Ranch Market. This is basically a big Chinese Supermarket. We talked to a lot of Chinese people, and found a couple who had some interest which was awesome. We also had English class which was awesome as usual. We probably had our most successful English class yet! There were quite a bit of people there.

We continue to work hard and contact on the UCR campus. I love working on the campus, but this week we didn't have very many people who were interested in our message. That night we drove to a referrals house, Zhou JieMei. We talked with her for about 30 minutes, and she is awesome!!!! The problem is, her family is going back to China this week and they aren't coming back until the end of December. We tried to schedule a time where we could come and meet with her before then but she said we can contact her when she gets back. Kind of a bummer :(

Friday we had a lesson with another referral, Sherry. She is great, but has a lot of questions and doesn't believe in God. She doesn't really have a ton of interest to continue to meet, but we will keep on trying!! Friday night, Elder Ly (from my Zone) and I went to teach the UCR English class. Sadly, no one showed up. So Elder Ly and I went out and contacted people. I did two solid Chinese contacts all by myself (since Elder Ly doesn't speak Chinese) and I was pretty proud of myself!

We had our weekly Blitz Saturday morning and I was put with Elder Wood this time. We worked so hard but weren't as successful this time. That's okay. I love the Blitz's!!! That night we visited Zhu Di Xiong (the dad of the family who is showing interest). We talked for a while and answered some of his questions. He is super busy and doesn't want to commit to anything. We will continue to work with him and pray for him!

Sunday was pretty awesome as usual. We had a missionary farewell in our ward for Daniel Torres, he is going to Chile. We also had one of our investigators at church!! Yang Di Xiong is his name. He lives with his daughter and she doesn't really want him to come to church but they made an agreement and he came which is so awesome! We had a lesson with him on Wednesday after English class. Then after church we had a lesson with a potential investigator from the 99 Cent Ranch Market. Her name is Joan Wu. We taught her the Restoration, and it was a pretty good lesson! We invited her to pray to know the truthfulness of our message and so we are praying for her!

This week has been better! I am continuing to learn every single day and I am grateful I have this opportunity to work as hard as I can for the people here. One cool thing I learned this week, "Through the Atonement, the Savior came to know us. Through His Atonement, we can come to know the Savior." I love that. Through Christ's Atonement, ALL is possible. Love you all have a great week!

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Hello everyone!! This week has had many highs and lows. I know this is missionary life and I will stay focused on the positive and enjoy every moment I am here!

Let me tell you about my companions. The three of us are the only Mandarin speakers in our mission. In fact, we cover the Riverside Mission, Redlands Mission and Rancho Cucamonga Mission although they that mission might be getting some Chinese Elders. It is lots of driving and I am always the driver. Elder Zeng and Elder Yang cannot drive. They are both from mainland China. Elder Zeng's English is really good. Elder Yang is improving and works really hard on English! He can't speak very well but he can read really well for some reason. My companions are so awesome. Elder Zeng joined the Church 6 years ago and he and his mom are members. Elder Yang joined the church 5 years ago and there are 7 other extended family members of his that are also members of the Church.

So last p-day (Monday) was Halloween. We were not allowed to go proselyte. I wanted to go out so bad to find investigators. There were so many people out! Instead, we had a zone activity.

Tuesday was the first day of November... that is crazy. We had our weekly zone meetings in the morning and some more studies after lunch. We went finding at a park that night and talked with this one guy from China for a really long time! He had us sit down with him and basically teach him a lesson. I was really excited and then we asked him if he wanted to hear more and he said that he didn't have any interest. That was kind of a bummer. We also visited the Li Family and had a lesson about encouraging them to do member missionary work. They are so awesome.

We continue to work really hard to try and find more investigators, but haven't yet seen much success. We met three guys playing basketball at the park named Frankie, Joseph, and Johnny. They weren't Chinese but we talked with them for a while about the Gospel which was cool. We got their contact information and referred them to different missionaries so that was pretty cool! We had English class that night. English class is the best. I love it so much!!

Thursday we spent most of the morning at UCR. On the way to UCR, Shu Jie Mei called us. She said that she wants to learn about Jesus Christ and our Gospel, but her family doesn't want her to meet with us, so she cancelled our lesson. It was super sad. I was so excited about her!

Friday we went to UCR again for most of the day. Finding at UCR is really fun. This past week we found a really cool new investigator, Pan Xia. She is a Material Science major and is super smart!! We had a lesson with her yesterday which I will explain more about later!! We ate dinner that night with Sunny, and older member from Taiwan. She is so awesome. It is kind of sad... She has a 17 year old dog that is blind and deaf and runs in the wall sometimes. But our visit was great and we invited her to try and read from the Book of Mormon everyday and she agreed! We had 2 new people at English Class on Friday night! Both of them are students at UCR, and have interest in learning about the Church. Also the Taiwanese couple came too, and they are awesome.

Saturday we had our weekly blitz. This week I was with Elder Jackson, one of our zone leaders. He is a really great missionary. We worked really hard and made I think we made about 17 contacts in 90 minutes and got quite a bit of referrals which was cool! We had the Stake Conference Adult Session that night which was awesome. Elder Zwick from the Seventy was there and he is so so cool.

Sunday morning we had Stake Conference. It was so cool. The was the best Stake Conference that I have ever been to. President and Sister Mullen spoke, the Redlands Temple President and his wife, and Elder and Sister Zwick. So awesome. I was really grateful that I could go and learn and feel the spirit. We also had a lesson that afternoon with Pan Xia. She is great, but kind of has some doubts and believes in "Science." We will continue to try and help her though! We also had a lesson with Evelyn. It was a hard one for me. We talked with her for a while about the Book of Mormon, faith, and prayer. At the end of the lesson, we invited her to continue to pray and read, everyday. She said that she doesn't need to, and already feels like she has a good life and then she told us that she doesn't want the Gospel right now. I know that someday she will accept the Gospel.

This week has had many highs and lows but I am so happy here and grateful for the opportunity to serve my Savior, Jesus Christ, and represent Him. I love you all have a great week!!

"A small miracle happened for me. We were tracting at another local park in the area, trying to find more investigators. I was feeling really discouraged. No one wanted to listen to us, and I was feeling really down. Right as we were about to give up, our last two contacts were a success. I was so grateful for Heavenly Father's blessings when I was feeling really down. Heavenly Father is really mindful of all of his missionaries!"

Elder Willes and Elder Yang

We try to do any grocery shopping at the local Asian market in hopes of finding people to teach

Hello everyone. I had another great week here in the CRM. I have really felt Heavenly Father's hand this week in my mission. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve here and help the people Come unto Christ. Tuesday, I had my field-orientation at the mission office with the 12 ish missionaries that came in a week after me. We had a bunch of trainings which basically took that whole day. I learned a lot so that was good! Towards the end of the training, we had a testimony meeting and everyone was assigned a trainer and an area. I already knew who my trainer was and area so no surprise for me there :) Elder Zeng and Elder Yang are awesome.

We had district and zone meetings this week. We also had our first official lesson with Tang Cheng. He has a few questions and concerns about the doctrine, but has shown some interest and wants to learn more about Christ. We also had the annual Ward Trunk or Treat this week. It was awesome. We had a great turnout! There were Chinese all over... I loved it.

Thursday we spent most of the day at UCR, finding. That is super fun. College students from China are awesome. I love talking to them and trying to help them Come unto Christ. We had a few good contacts and got some contact information too. That night, a small miracle happened for me. We were tracting at another local park in the area, trying to find more investigators. I was feeling really discouraged. No one wanted to listen to us, and I was feeling really down. Right as we were about to give up, our last two contacts were a success. We contacted Shu Jie Mei and her son, Allen. Shu Jie Mei has a lot of interest and I was so grateful for Heavenly Father blessing me when I was feeling really down. It was so awesome. Heavenly Father is really mindful of all of his missionaries!

Friday was super busy. Studies in the morning, and then we met with a PI, Amit, at UCR. He is a student and super smart. We are hoping and praying he continues to show interest in our message! We then spent most of the day at UCR and also had another English Class. The same awesome couple for Taiwan came. They are both in their 70's and 80's and are hilarious. We are trying to help them learn English, and share with them our message. They don't seem to be too interested but we will continue to try!!

Saturday morning we had our weekly blitz. This week I was with Elder Steed (another Elder in our zone). In 90 minutes, we made 11 contacts walking around and got a referral too! That was awesome. We also had lunch with our Stake President, President Jergensen. He is super cool. We had a dinner scheduled with a family in a different ward, but they just invited us to come to their Trunk or Treat for dinner so we went to two this week haha. After that we went and visited the Zhu family. They are super busy, but are showing more interest. Please pray for them! We are going to try and put them on for baptism this next week.

Sunday was awesome. I was asked me to give the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting. I also bore my testimony to the English ward. :) Sunday night we drove to Riverside to meet with the Grahams. The Grahams have a 18 year old girl named Evelyn living with them, from mainland China. We ate with them, and shared a message with Evelyn. We taught her the third lesson, about the Gospel of Christ. It was awesome. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon every day, and she said she couldn't do it. I felt prompted to invite her to just try it for a couple of days, and see how she feels. I let her borrow my Book of Mormon and promised her that she would feel happier. Please pray for her as well!

This week has been awesome. I am learning more and more each day. I am so excited to keep serving the people here and am praying for our investigators so that we can help them. Love you all have a great week!

Monday, October 24, 2016

"Funny thing, since people need translation, for third hour of church, we go to Relief Society!!

Hahaha it was pretty funny just us Elders chillin' in Relief Society translating. That was fun!"

Elder Willes with his new companions Elder Yang and Elder Warren

Holy cow! Where do I even start? I finally made it to California. I love it here. I left the MTC on Tuesday, October 18th, at 3:50 a.m. and arrived in California at about 9:30 a.m. Seeing my bro was a highlight and got me pumped and ready to go. When I landed and got my bags there was no one there at the airport to pick me up. It was crazy! I was so scared and just sat there for like 15 minutes wondering what I was going to do. The AP's arrived and got me so no worries :) They took me straight to the mission office, and I met my companions there - Elder Warren (from Sandy, UT) and Elder Yang (from China). They are so awesome! Elder Warren actually goes home tomorrow and so Elder Zeng (he is also from China) will be training me and I will also be companions with Elder Yang, and we will all serve in a trio. I also met with President Mullen my Mission President. He is awesome. I love him. Riverside came up clutch and we had dinner my first night here with a really nice member family... The Chubbicks. We also taught a lesson about the restoration with a RC family, the Li Family. I love them. They are the best!

The Li Family - I love this family. They are so good and kind to the missionaries.

Every Wednesday and Friday we have an English class. On Wednesday, after our district meeting and studies in the afternoon, we had our first English class. Sadly there wasn't any Chinese people there. :( The Jiang's, another member family in our ward, fed us some good Chinese food. The food here is pretty great. We shared a short message about prophets with them and went finding at the local park that night.

On Thursday we went to the University of California Riverside (UCR). There are tons of Chinese people walking around... It is so awesome!! We walked around campus, and talked with a bunch of people and had lunch at the Institute building there. We had a weekly planning session, ate dinner at this Mexican place, On the Border... It was sooooo good :) I also met the Bishop... Bishop Louden. He is a great guy!!

We have a couple of investigators that we are teaching. The Ning Family, The Zhu family, Grace (a referral) and a couple others I haven't met yet. The Ning's came to church yesterday!!! It was awesome but they just moved and are now saying that they don't know if they can meet in their current house because they are renting. We will have to find another place to meet. Please pray for them!

Friday Elder Warren and I went to UCR for the whole day. We talked to a ton of people and met this cool guy named Patrick. We thought he was Chinese and turns out he wasn't haha but we talked with him for a while. He has a Christian background and we were able to say a prayer with him on campus and said he wanted to keep meeting! We referred him to the other Elders. Then we had English class again. 3 people came - 2 from Taiwan and 1 potential investigator from China, Tang Cheng. We have an appointment scheduled with him this week!

Elder Willes and Elder Warren

Saturday was another really busy day. I love the busy days. We had a "blitz" in the morning, where all the missionaries from our zone go to a certain area and get referrals to help the area. We found 2 really awesome referrals for the Elders in that area. We talked with one guy who used to be in a bunch of gangs in LA and felt like he needed to move to Riverside and change his life around. It was a really cool experience. Saturday night we had a dinner appointment with the Ding Family; another family in our ward. :) They fed us some traditional Chinese food, including some nice DUCK FEET. I had to eat two of them... It was alright. Pretty weird but a good experience!

Sunday was the best. One Sunday a month, all the Chinese members come together and have a Sacrament meeting all in Chinese. It was so cool. About 20 people were there, and Elder Warren gave a talk, and I bore my testimony in Chinese at the end. It was awesome and I felt the Spirit really strong :) We then went to Gospel Doctrine class, I sat by Ning Di Xiong. He is awesome. I hope he gets baptized. Funny thing, since people need translation, for third hour of church, we go to Relief Society!! Hahaha it was pretty funny just us Elders chillin' in Relief Society translating. That was fun.

Elders Willes, Warren and Yang

Our apartment is in Eastvale, CA. The members here are so awesome. I love them!! The weather is so sick. It is literally hot and I love it so much. I got my bike but we are also mostly in a car. The language is really hard... I get frustrated sometimes but am working really hard. That is so sad about Brother Jensen and Sister Slater. I am praying for those families. The Plan brings us a lot of peace knowing this is not the end. I'm glad I get to share this with others.

This week has been crazy busy, and so tiring, but I am so happy to be here. I am excited to keep progressing every day. Love you all have a great week!

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

"As I think back on my time at the MTC I feel really accomplished and that I am about to complete one of the hardest things i have ever done. My time here hasn't been easy, but I have loved every second of it."

Another Legendary Picture Brother Xiao who is the 1st Counselor in our Branch Presidency.Brother Xiao is from China and is the coolest guy.

Hello everyone! :) This week has been awesome. My travel plans came this past week!!! I leave Tuesday morning, the 18th (mom note: TODAY). I report to the MTC travel office at 3:50 am. My flight leaves for Ontario, CA at about 8:50. Haha I am the only missionary in my travel group but it is going to be so awesome I am so excited!!!! Also, this last week I got my Chinese tags, Now I'm ready.This week has gone by so fast, and I was really busy. We have taught so many lessons and had so much fun. Let me tell you a little bit how it went down!! Wednesday night Elder Shakespear and I gave a tour to all of the new missionaries in our zone. We got 8 new missionaries. They are great. We met all of them, had a little meeting, conducted a mock companionship inventory for them, and gave them a tour of the MTC. It was funny reliving the memories that I had just 8 weeks ago :)

Teaching, teaching, teaching. That's what we've been doing. We've had lessons with Liu Di Xiong and one with Wei Kai. and with Ou DX. We have been teaching a lot on the Word of Wisdom lately. Some of our investigators have problems with giving up tea, and so we are trying to work those out. Wei Kai also said he would try and commit to live it, despite his problem with alcohol. We have also been practicing our teaching on the principle of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. I am ready to get to California and try to help someone make real changes.

Elder Willes' last day at the MTC

Friday morning we got up and did service. I have one more service opportunity this coming Friday! I am kinda sad though. I really do love service. On Saturday night Elder Shakespear and I interviewed all of the district leaders, that was pretty great too. Being zone leaders is a lot of new responsibility, but we love it so much and are both so grateful for the opportunity to serve our zone.

Sunday was awesome! As usual :) Elder Shakespear and I blessed the Sacrament in Chinese! It was a super cool experience. It was also Fast Sunday. I promised myself last month that I would get up and bear my testimony this month. I was pretty scared but the Spirit was prompting me so I got and and did it. I am so thankful I did. It was great! We grow through sharing and speaking those words aloud. Sunday night's devotional was President Heaton, who is one of the guys in charge at the MTC. He spoke all about repentance, and how repentance is one of the biggest gifts that Heavenly Father has given us. I loved it!

Monday we had another Skype TRC, I love those :) We Skyped a guy from Taiwan and taught him about Christ, His Atonement, and Christlike attributes. It was awesome. At the end of the lesson, we sang a hymn for him and it was my first experience singing during a lesson. I loved it and I love how easily I can feel the Spirit through music.

Yesterday was so cool. ELDER BEDNAR came and spoke to us!!! He taught us the importance of re-studying General Conference. So I'm gonna do that. One thing Elder Bednar shared is that Conference topics are not assigned, and common themes emerge through the Spirit and power of Heaven. I loved that. General Authorities are some of our best examples of following the Spirit.

Well everyone, I can't believe I leave in about 5 days. Crazy and so exciting :) Love you all have a great week!!

[Mom note: At 4:00 a.m. today William popped out of bed and raced to the train station. Will bought a Front Runner ticket and found his brother, Elder Wei (the 2nd) - Nathan, sitting on the upper level waiting for the train to take him to the airport. They visited for a few short minutes, Elder Willes shared his testimony in Mandarin and Will jumped off the train before it left Provo. And just like that Nate is off to spread the good news to the people of Riverside. Elder Nathan Willes takes with him our hearts and prayers and love. Go teach peace my sweet son.]

Saturday, October 8, 2016

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him

to declare his word among his people that they might have everlasting life." 3 Nephi 5:13

Another great week here in the MTC! This past week Elder Shakespear and I were called as the new Zone Leaders. We are excited for the opportunity and are working hard to improve our zone. Tonight Elder Shakespear and I welcome 8 new missionaries :) As zone leaders, we get to welcome them, get to know them, give them a tour of the MTC, and conduct a companionship inventory. Super exciting :)This week was pretty solid. We have taught a lot of lessons this week. We have been working hard on companionship unity during lessons, and we are really starting to see the benefits. Monday night we had another Skype TRC. We skyped this older lady from Taiwan. Her name is Wu Jie Mei and it skyping and teaching her was so awesome. At the end of the TRC, I felt prompted to invite Wu Jie Mei to read The Book of Mormon with her family, every day. She thanked us, and said that she really needed a reminder to do that. It was cool. Saturday and Sunday were full of General Conference, which was a great blessing :) Sister Burton, the General Relief Society President, gave the Tuesday night devotional. It was awesome. She shared the scripture:"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people that they might have everlasting life." 3 Nephi 5:13 This scripture truly sums up my feelings about my missionary purpose. So awesome. General Conference was incredible. Before my mission, I really didn't have the best attitude about General Conference and I definitely took for granted the blessing of hearing from modern day apostles ad prophets. This time around, I made a change. I took tons of notes on every talk and there were so many awesome things I learned. I just want to share a few highlights of a few things I learned.

#1- I loved Robert D. Hales talk. I love how he talked about how if we love the Savior more, will we suffer less? Jesus Christ gave up his life for us, so that we can be happy. What a blessing that is. Another thing that stuck out was "We love Him, because He loved us first." The Savior's love is infinite, and it reaches everyone. The Savior has an enduring love and He is our caretaker.

#2- I also loved Elder Uceda's talk, and the story he told about the Inca Bridge where he almost fell off, and the missionary stayed behind because he followed a prompting. While on a mission it is really important to listen to the spirit, so that you can follow promptings and teach to the needs of your investigators.

#3- Elder Yamashita "Be ambitious for Christ." I loved that.

#4- Elder Eyring's talk in Priesthood session was amazing. When he talked about the "Priesthood Journey" and how we can help others develop faith and confidence in priesthood Service. I felt the spirit really strong.

#5- Russell M. Nelson's talk about joy was so good to hear. During His Atonement, Christ focused on joy. I think that is so amazing. We can follow in His example that when we go through trials, learn to suffer with joy. We will be blessed beyond belief for that.

General Conference was so special. I am so grateful for everything that I learned and it was incredible watching it in a big room with about 2000 other missionaries; all 2000 of us united in purpose and in spirit. Super cool.

Love you all have a great week!!

Elder Willes

Elder Lewis and Elder Willes - friends from home - after watching a session of General Conference

Elder Willes and Elder Fakatou who is from Great Britain and has the coolest accent ever

Hey everyone! This week has been pretty good. I have learned a lot this week. I love how I can learn and grow and become a better missionary and person each and every day. I am officially 2/3 of the way done with my time at the MTC. Time has really flown by and I will be in California in less than 3 weeks from today!!!!!!

MTC haircuts. You've heard the horror stories. Last p-day we got haircuts. It is quite the adventure but I must say but they did a good job.

Elder Willes and Elder Gouttier who is one of our Zone Leaders. Elder Gouttier is from France.

Elder Cline, Elder Lewis and Elder Willes - Buddies from home

We've been teaching a lot. It is good practice. I love it. We invited Ou Di Xiong at the end of the lesson to read the story about Enos and it was so awesome. We also had lessons with Liu Di Xiong and Wei Kai (our other two teachers/investigators). We have been teaching them both about the Plan of Salvation and it has been a good learning experience, teaching the Plan all in Chinese. I love it. I love the Plan. I love teaching in Chinese. Our lesson with Wei Kai was such a memorable experience. We abandoned our entire lesson plan, and just taught to his needs. The Spirit was really strong and we came out of the lesson SO HAPPY. We have been teaching a lot recently, about twice a day. Elder Shakespear and I have really grown together as a companionship and we have gotten better at following the Spirit. Teaching is so great :)

Saturday we had TRC again. We taught how we can each receive answers to our prayers. It was so great. We only taught once again because there weren't enough volunteers but TRC is incredible. On Monday we had our first "Skype TRC." We skype someone from either China or Taiwan, and teach them a lesson. We skyped with this lady from Taiwan, and taught her about prayer. It was kinda hard to understand her but I was smiling the whole time and just loving it. We asked really good questions about prayer that got her to think and feel the Spirit I hope.

Sunday was awesome, the topic for this week was baptism. My companion taught Priesthood and he did a really great job! Sunday night's devotional was by Stephen Allen, who works in the Missionary Department. I loved his talk. He did a survey and asked missionaries to stand up when he asked certain questions. It's kinda hard to explain but was cool. We also got to watch 17 Miracles!! Elder Schweitzer of the Seventy taught us at the Tuesday night devotional about commandments and the importance of keeping the commandments. Devotionals here are awesome. I feel the spirit every time and can learn how to be better. It is such a blessing to be at the MTC and hear from General Authorities every single week! I am also way pumped for General Conference.

This morning we went to the temple again. Such a great experience and always a highlight. Love you all and hope everyone has a great week!!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

"There is no middle ground. You either believe and know it's true, or you don't.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share this life changing message with others and take part

in the battle for the literal salvation of souls."

Elder Shakespear and Elder Willes

Elders Elton and Willes on the temple walk. Elder Elton is going to Scotland and Ireland speaking Mandarin.

Hey everyone! This week has been super busy, but overall a great week. I will start off with some sad news. Yes, a choir of missionaries from the MTC are going to sing at one of the sessions of General Conference in a couple of weeks. No, I wasn't chosen to be in the choir. Super sad. I wanted to go so bad. Its all good though. Life goes on. :) I am super happy and grateful that I still get to watch Conference and hear from modern day prophets and apostles!

This week has been super busy. My district, my class, got new teachers - Brother Wadsworth, Brother Taylor, and Ou Lao Shi (haha I don't know his English name). They are all awesome. They all have been a blessing and have taught me a TON. Because we have new teachers, these three teachers are all our new "investigators." It has been really fun teaching these new investigators and developing my teaching skills. [Mom note: Brother Wadsworth is actually a distant relative of Nate's and also served in the same mission as Nate's older brother Will.]

We had our first lesson with Ou Di Xiong. It was great. I love it when I can feel the Spirit in a lesson. It is such an awesome feeling. Friday mornings we always do service which is awesome. We also had our first lesson with Tan Di Xiong (Brother Taylor) and that was a pretty good lesson. He asks pretty difficult questions at times, but it is good practice for me. Our first lesson with Wei Kai (Brother Wadsworth) was a good one. We invited him to pray about Jesus Christ, God, and Christ's Atonement and he said that he would! These experiences are preparing me for those in Riverside. I know it.

This week, on Saturday, I counted my one month mark as a missionary!!!!! Holy cow I couldn't believe it. Time is really strange in the MTC. It's hard to explain but I am happy to say that I have completed my first month :) We taught about the Book of Mormon and the importance of it at TRC. The Book of Mormon is ESSENTIAL to one's conversion, and I am grateful I get to share that. :) TRC is the best.

Saturday night, right as we were headed back to our residence, me, Elder Cline, and Elder Shakespear heard the BYU football game. "WELCOME BACK TO THE FIELD YOUR BYU COUGARS." It was kinda sad and weird. But Sunday was awesome, as always. The talks and lessons were focused on repentance. I made it another Sunday without being asked to speak in sacrament meeting! I am sure I will speak soon though. :) Sunday night's devotional was given by President and Sister Mehrs. They are a district president in the MTC and gave really great messages. I got to sit by my good pal Elder Jordan Lewis, a friend from home.

Elder Lewis and Elder Willes

A group of missionaries in the MTC all from Woods Cross High School

Monday was another day full of teaching, studying, and more class. I love the time we get to have for personal study. I learn so much from the scriptures and PMG, conference talks and mormon messages. Tuesday night's devotional was by President L. Whitney Clayton, who is in the Presidency of the Seventy, and his wife. It was awesome. He talked about how there is no middle ground. You either believe and know it's true, or you don't. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to share this life changing message with others and take part in the battle for the literal salvation of souls.

We got to go to the temple this morning. I always love that :)

Thank you so much everyone for all of your love and support. Miss you all hope you have a great week!

Thursday, September 15, 2016

"It was a night I won't forget. I'm not gonna lie, when we were singing, I literally couldn't stop crying.

I felt the Spirit so strong and I felt so grateful that I was able to have that opportunity to

witness something so cool and powerful."

"This might be the most legendary picture I've taken since I got here. I love my Chinese friends so much."

This has been an awesome week. Another week down here. I have almost been on my mission for a month and I am 1/2 way through my time at the MTC :) Yes mom, I am still sick. It is hard for me to get better because I don't sleep well here.

Elder Willes and Elder Shakespear

Thursday we had yet another lesson with Li Feng. Elder Shakespear and I have been teaching a ton lately. It is very good practice and I can't wait to actually teach someone in Riverside :) We taught Li Feng about The Restoration and the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson, we asked him to read from the introduction of The Book of Mormon and pray about it. Li Feng has been progressing very well, and he tends to follow through on almost all of the commitment invitations we give him which is great! [*MOM NOTE: When Nathan teaches investigators at the MTC, generally those are his teachers posing as investigators.]

After our service on Friday morning we had a lesson with Zheng Xian Sheng. Elder Shakespear and I also taught Zheng Xian Sheng about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon but he had many more questions about the doctrine. We were able to follow the Spirit and answer his questions and it was so cool :) When we came out of the lesson, we were so happy because we could communicate, for the most part, and understand what he was saying. I am so thankful for how blessed I have been in learning the Chinese language. Friday night we had another lesson with Li Feng, and we taught him about the Plan of Salvation. This lesson was kind of difficult, because there are so many words to know for the Plan of Salvation. We did the best we could, and we decided to take more time teaching this great stuff to Li Feng on Saturday, so he can understand it better.

Saturday was such a memorable day. In the morning we had TRC and we had a lesson with a lady from China. We taught her about prayer and the importance of prayer in our everyday lives, because it allows us to communicate with Heavenly Father. It was so awesome! For our 2nd lesson at TRC, there weren't enough "recent converts" to be taught so they asked Elder Shakespear and I to be taught as "recent converts" for other missionaries to teach! That was fun.

That night was so special. Elder Shakespear and I were able to go to Mamoo and Boppy's zone meeting. Whenever missionaries are departing and leaving for their missions, Mamoo and Boppy have a special zone meeting. They had made special arrangements with my Branch President so that Elder Shakespear and I could come because Mamoo and Boppy were being released from their callings here at the MTC. They have, I think, 8 different languages in their zone. As districts, the missionaries all go up and recite the First Vision in their mission language. They also all sing hymns in their mission languages. It was a night I won't forget. I'm not gonna lie, when we were singing, I literally couldn't stop crying. I felt the Spirit so strong and I felt so grateful that I was able to have that opportunity to witness something so cool and powerful.

I love Sundays here. I taught Priesthood which was really cool! I taught about having faith in Jesus Christ, and how we can better develop our faith. Sunday night's devotional was given by Elder M. Russell Ballard :) He said that his talk wasn't necessarily clear before he started and that he was basically just going to speak as the Spirit prompted him. It was a huge testimony builder to me of always being willing to follow the Spirit.

Yesterday we had 23 Mandarin speaking missionaries leave for their missions at about 4:00 a.m. Our zone is much smaller now but we are gonna have new missionaries coming in soon. Most of the missionaries in my zone are going to Taiwan. Others are going to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Scotland, Ireland, California, New York, and the sister in my district is going to Hawaii.

We had our last lesson with Li Feng, and we taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is "moving" back to China which means that our district will be getting new teachers :( I am kinda bummed. My teachers were awesome.

3 APOSTLES IN A ROW!!! Yep, Tuesday night's devotional was given by Elder Quentin L. Cook :) 3 in a row - that has gotta be some sort of record here. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have had to hear apostles of the Lord speak to me here at the MTC. Elder Cook shared with us the 4 loves in missionary work. Loving your companion, the people, your mission president, and the Lord. It was so cool.

I am so thankful for the opportunity and privilege to serve. I have learned so much throughout my time here and my testimony has gotten stronger. Doctrine and Covenants 20 taught me a lot this week about Christ and all that he went through. I would really encourage everyone to read it. Verses 17-31 are so powerful. Jesus Christ suffered through everything for us. There is nothing unfair in life that the Atonement of Christ doesn't cover. Love you all and have a great week!!

Elder Nathan Marchant Willes has been called to serve as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the California, Riverside Mission. He will teach the Gospel in Mandarin, Chinese. Elder Willes will serve 2 years.